City Power warns Johannesburg residents as cold weather sees spike in outages

City Power has issued an urgent appeal to Johannesburg residents and businesses to reduce electricity consumption as freezing temperatures sweep across Gauteng, threatening to overwhelm the city’s power infrastructure and trigger widespread outages.

The utility company warned on Monday that excessive electricity usage during the current cold snap could cause localised network overloading, particularly in areas where infrastructure is already under strain.

With the South African Weather Service (Saws) forecasting temperatures to remain between 3 °C and 13°C throughout the week, and some areas expected to drop below freezing, City Power anticipates sustained pressure on the grid.

City Power outage calls surge as temperatures drop

Isaac Mangena, general manager of City Power’s Department of Public Relations and Communication, revealed that the utility is already experiencing the impact of increased electricity demand.

“City Power is starting to experience an increase in outage calls with cold temperatures putting added pressure on our infrastructure due to increased electricity usage,” Mangena said.

The scale of the challenge became apparent on Monday when cold weather conditions began intensifying.

“When you look at Monday — when cold weather started to creep — we closed the day with a total of 3,118 outage calls, which was slightly higher than the number of outages that we basically opened the day, on Monday, with where we’re sitting at about 2,700 outage calls across the city,” Mangena explained.

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Inner City bears brunt of power problems

According to Mangena, the inner city recorded the highest number of outage calls on Monday, with approximately 755 incidents reported by the close of business.

The Roodepoort Service Delivery Centre recorded the second-highest number of calls, with about 543 outage reports extending into the night.

These faults were primarily caused by issues at the Boothhill Switching Station and Tshepisong Switching Station, both of which occurred during the late afternoon period, coinciding with the evening peak demand.

Mangena said a second major incident involved the John Ware Substation, which required overnight attention from technical crews.

As of Tuesday morning, the utility’s Inner-City Service Delivery Centre (SDC) had 764 open calls, with 516 of those received over the previous 24 hours.

It was followed by the Hursthill SDC, which had 471 open calls and 26 plants out of service.

Lenasia SDC came in third, opening with 417 open calls, and 246 of these logged within 24 hours.

The Alexandra SDC started with 358 open calls, with 256 of these logged in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Randburg SDC opened with 263 open calls and 107 of these were recorded within 24 hours.

The Midrand SDC received only 102 open calls in the morning, and 40 of those were logged within 24 hours.

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Peak demand periods pose greatest risk

Mangena emphasised that the timing of outages is particularly problematic, as they often coincide with periods of highest electricity consumption.

“The cold weather drives up usage of heaters, geysers, electric blankets, and even other high-demand appliances, which often leads to localised overloads, tripping, and also falls on the system, worsening the situation that we currently find ourselves in,” he said.

City Power has identified morning hours between 6am and 9am, and evening hours from 5pm to 9pm as the most critical periods when demand typically peaks.

During these times, the combination of normal household and business consumption with additional heating requirements places maximum stress on the network.

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Conservation measures urged

To prevent further system strain, City Power is urging customers to adopt energy-saving practices and alternative warming methods.

The utility recommended:

• Limiting the use of heaters and electric blankets during peak hours,
• Layering clothing, and
• Using warm bedding, such as hot water bottles, instead of electric heating devices.

Customers are also advised to switch off geysers during peak periods, reduce water heating times, and ensure doors and windows are properly sealed to retain indoor heat.

Where safely possible, the utility suggests using gas heaters or fireplaces as alternatives to electrical heating, while emphasising the importance of switching off unused lights and appliances to eliminate phantom energy consumption.

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Safety warnings accompany conservation appeals

Beyond network stability concerns, City Power has issued safety warnings for residents using various heating devices during the cold spell.

“We also wish to caution customers who are using various heating devices to be extra cautious not to cause fires,” Mangena said.

He highlighted the dual risks of increased electricity demand and potential fire hazards from heating equipment.

Emergency response measures in place

Despite the challenges, City Power has assured residents that emergency response capabilities remain fully operational.

The utility said teams are on high alert and prepared to deploy resources to areas experiencing the greatest pressure on the network.

It maintained its standard emergency contact systems, with customers able to report outages through the citypower.mobi platform or by calling 011 490 7484.

“City Power will remain on high alert during this cold spell and will be ready to deploy our resources, especially into the areas with the most pressure,” Mangena confirmed.

He further stressed that prevention through responsible electricity usage remains the most effective strategy for avoiding service disruptions.

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